How to Train a Shitzu Puppy
A new puppy can bring joy into your household, but it can also cause frustration and conflict. Training your Shitzu puppy to be a good citizen is critical in making the animal a healthy part of your, and your family's, life. While Shitzu puppies have a few unique traits, training them for the most part is not much different than training any other dog.
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Instructions
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Work with your puppy every day to build a strong core of obedience. Shitzu puppies are unlike working dogs in that they are not bred for training, so teaching them that training is a part of their daily lives goes a long way toward helping them learn more rapidly.
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Pay close attention to the positive things you give your puppy. Much like humans, puppies should have to earn everything they have. Do not feed, pet or play with your puppy unless he or she has earned it (for instance, make the puppy sit before eating or lay down to be pet).
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Be patient with your puppy. Dogs do not understand English and commands will often take a few weeks of steady practice to become core abilities. Shitzus are more difficult to train than working animals, but if you show patience and always make training fun they'll be acting like obedience champions in no time.
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Socialize your puppy by bringing it to dog parks and pet stores. Shitzus are notorious for their "yapping," but much of this comes from unfamiliarity with new places, people or things. You can nip this behavior in the bud by constantly introducing your puppy to new things.
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Attend a puppy training class. Classes are available from local trainers or big-box stores like PetsMart and Petco, and they are guided by professional dog trainers. While the obedience your puppy learns in these classes is important (sit and stay, potty training and lay down are the basics for most), the socialization aspect of meeting other people and dogs is of even greater benefit.
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Reward behaviors instantly. Dogs do not have a great memory and often need to be rewarded at the moment they complete a command, otherwise they may not understand why they are being rewarded.
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Tips & Warnings
Remember that, contrary to popular opinion, dogs do not obey humans just because they're dogs. Every command you give your dog should have a clear benefit when training--think of your puppy as saying, "What's in it for me?"
Never hit or hurt your dog. While many people believe that punishing an animal helps animals learn to avoid bad behaviors, in most cases it just teaches them to be afraid of you. Stick with positive reinforcement and your puppy will be obedient and, more importantly, happy.
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- Photo Credit Shitzu in spiaggia image by paologo from Fotolia.com
